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I love hearing from my readers!

Just remember that if something isn’t too personal, it might be better asked in a “comment” at the related post so that others can benefit from the answer. (For example, questions about homemade yogurt, chicken stock, or granola bars should land on those posts…) Questions, requests for a certain topic, and advertising pitches are all welcome.

I honestly can’t promise I’ll answer (unless you have an eBook question or ordering issue – I pride myself on prompt customer service!). My four children, husband, and home have to come before personal email questions. I do, however, answer all questions in the comments section of blog posts (although sometimes it takes a week or so, see above excuse).

I’ve covered a great many topics here at KS, and you can check out my thoughts on them all by using the search bar to the righthand side there. There’s also an archives page for your convenience and some FAQs below…

If you checked those places and still want to contact me, my inbox awaits:

Why do you include Catholic stuff on Kitchen Stewardship? My commitment to being a good steward is part of my call from God, so my faith is an integral part of my work in the kitchen.

Do you know anything about [list a certain fat here]? See this chart for the scoop on all fats.

How do I get started with a blog (or increase my readership on my current blog)? I love Amy Lynn Andrews for the basics – check out Blogging with Amy for brilliant step-by-step instructions about starting a blog. As for readership – be unique. Be yourself. Network with other bloggers politely. And work you patooty off. 😉 Get on Twitter and Facebook, even though they’re time sucks. They’re worth it if you want to be serious about blogging. Go to conferences. If you’re in West Michigan, join us for a local West Michigan Blogs meeting.

292 Bites of Conversation So Far

Just discovered your site and have a non-health/stewardship question that I thought I’d ask here, rather than bother you with an email. 🙂 I love the font you used for your link categories, below your website banner, and was wondering if you’d be willing to share the name of the font with me. Just for the record, I’m not a blogger, never will be, I just like to create my own recipe cards and that font is very easy on the eyes while also being a little decorative. Thanks in advance for any answer you may have time to provide. 😀

It’s Ben Merlotti from IHM! My mom saw your post looking for a videogrpaher/video editor. I’m currently at Xavier University majoring in Digital Media with a business innovation minor. I’ve been editing videos at school in a few of my classes as well as outside of class. I’ve been doing very well in my classes that involve videography/editing, and its something I love to do. I would love to work on a project with you! You can contact me at the email I provided.

There is a new book (available on amazon) called
“How to Stop Cavities: A Natural Approach to Prevention and Remineralization”
by Dr. Judene Benoit . After following Ramiel Nagel’s diet, and reading his book, you will find new information here, as well as some overlapping information. Apparently when teeth remineralize, it might not be possible for the xray to show that in some cases. There is a good explanation of that in Dr. Benoit’s book.

Thanks for mentioning our farm as a place where folks can u pick. We’ve been certified organic since 1977 and now offer u pick strawberries and blueberries. We also sell frozen blueberries year around. Maybe God bless your home

My husband and I want a non toxic mattress. We did get the intellibed. First we got the medium hardness mattress and it was too hard for us and we both got more backaches. My husband even got some who usually doesn’t get back pain. Then we exchanged it for their softer version. Now we like the softness of it but there is more motion transfer. Maybe we just can’t have both, or is there another mattress you think we should consider? We really wanted to be absolutely raving about this mattress but are a little confused as to why it’s just not perfect for us. We might just need to stick with this one. Right now I’m the one who moves around in bed more than my husband. If he began to toss more in sleep then we would have a problem, because I’m a light sleeper.

Martha,
I wish I had an answer for you – we haven’t had miraculous sleep with the intelliBED either but also have not had a bad experience. ?? I haven’t tried out any of the other ones I mentioned today, alas! I hope you figure out the perfect fit! 🙂 Katie

I just love your website! I’m taking those baby steps and tried making my own bone broth, and it came out wonderful! My dilemma: My family loves the creamed chicken recipe, but my link no longer works. Can you post the recipe again? Thank you for making a difference in our lives and health!! Blessings, Cindy

I’ve just read the 2012 article on natural dishwasher detergent, it has provided me great insight -thank you. My question is regarding vinegar. How often should I place a little container of vinegar on the top rack? Is it every time we use it?

I saw you were looking for a natural protein powder that tastes great. Let me recommend one for you to try. I have taken NP Pro and lost 25 pounds and leveled out my sugar levels and dropped my A1C to below diabetic levels. It was created by a doctor who wanted a natural protein powder and found that most had some form of ingredient that was not healthy. I am so pleased to have found it as I struggled with my weight for years and nothing helped. Oh and I forgot to mention it tastes great!!! It definitely should be one you try.

How could you be connected to Be Frugal coupons. This is nothing more then a chance for a bunch of advertisers to spam you. People already get to much spam. Why would you want to add to that. There is such a thing as being a good steward of peoples time. Please take this into consideration when you link with partners. Some of the coupons they offer are for junk food which appears to be something you are against. When you want to offer coupons for food can you please make it for healthier food not junk food. Thanks!

Hi Linda,
Thanks for contacting me about this – were you reading an older post that linked to these coupons or were they in a visual ad on the site? I don’t recognize that program, and you’re right, I don’t use coupons for processed food anymore myself. If the ad was an image, those come through ad networks, and although I’m not able to approve every advertiser before it goes up, I can block those that don’t fit my mission, which I will do if you can let me know where you saw it. Thank you! 🙂 Katie

Your post on the Kerry Gold butter, I was wondering when dairy is pasteurized doesn’t it kill all the nutritional benefits of having dairy? So even though it comes from grass fed cows once its pasteurized it’s basically just protein?

You mentioned “when the grass is growing quickly and sunshine is abundant, should be higher in Vitamins A&D, CLA fats, and even omega 3s.”

Hey Laney,
Good question – pasteurizing milk kills the good bacteria and enzymes in dairy, but there are still lots of nutrients that aren’t heat sensitive, like the ones listed above. Vitamin C is heat sensitive, but most other vits aren’t. Raw is optimal, but hard to find. Lots of good things about grassfed butter, even pasteurized. 🙂 Katie

Do you have any suggestions for a good waffle iron? They all see to have Teflon on the inside, of course so they don’t stick. I stay away from Teflon but i don’t know what else could be used for a waffle maker. So what do people use?

Good question. I browsed Amazon a bit and found one that is ceramic and says it is without PTFE and PFOA so you might want to look into it some more and see if it is acceptable to you. It looks nice! 🙂

Hi, Just found your site tonight and enjoyed reading a few posts. You’ve got a lot of comments so I’m not sure if this has been already addressed, but my comment pertains to your endorsement of Biokleen Produce Wash. It contains sodium lauryl sulphate which is a foaming surfactant which is found in virtually all toothpaste, shampoos, body wash, and other cleaners which require foaming. There is a lot of awareness now to avoid this prevalent chemical. I spray my produce with food grade 3% hydrogen peroxide (diluted in a dark spray bottle) plus then spray it with vinegar. They need to be stored separately and not combined for maximum efficacy. For household cleaning I change the food-grade hydrogen peroxide to the drug store quality which is way cheaper, plus switch out the vinegar for double-strength (10%) vinegar. That along with baking soda, a little GSE (grapefruit seed extract) and some pine essential oil, takes care of a lot of the cleaning. Thought I’d put in my 2 cents’ worth if someone cared to research further. Enjoyed the content on your site.

Thanks, Tina – I didn’t realize SLS was in the produce wash. 🙁 It’s been a long time since I read those ingredients and I wasn’t as clued into SLS back then. Bummer! H2o2 and vinegar are some of my favs for cleaning too – 🙂 katie

So many years have i never been able to listen to people telling me how or why to eat healthy mainly cause its always in demands or threats i’m 24 and i hate eatting or even cooking anything that feels complicated OMG all i did was read one post and i’m saving pages in a file for later cooking when i do my shopping next the energy alone flowing from these articles got me interested its amazing to see fun added to the idea of being healthy i came across your article about your dad with cancer my deepest sympothies by the way i truely understand the fear that follows that one word i hope he gets better and stays better but curiosity got me reading more articles and now i can’t wait to make homemade broth and yogurt 🙂 to have inspired this in me i hope this shows my gratitude on the highest level maybe i can get my hubby to join in ^-^ *fingers crossed*

Thanks so much! Yeah, it seems like it is in EVERYTHING, doesn’t it?? There are definitely brands out there that don’t, try and find some organic brands. I know some store brands I buy are without any added sugars. You might have a better time finding tomato paste without sugar and watering it down a bit. Always read labels – I sometimes forget and bring home something I’m not too happy with!!

I have been trying for the last year to get the processed junk out of my cabinets, but have only managed to succeed for a few weeks at a time, mostly because real food cooking can be incredibly time-consuming. Then I found your website!

I bought your eBook Better Than a Box and the first thing I tried was Dad’s Cheeseburger Helper. It was fabulous. It was so easy!

The only problem I ran into was I noticed that my tomato sauce has high fructose corn syrup in it! Is that stuff in everything?

Katie, I put up with your ads for a week now and I understand you think you are doing a great favor to a great many people. But I found your last email a bit offensive. You wrote that certain people shouldn’t buy your book. As in:

people who are totally happy with their quality of life.

folks who would rather give their doctor $30 for a 5-minute chat after spending 45 minutes in the waiting room.

those not worried about disease or optimal health.

families who really don’t have $30 in their budget to spend- please don’t spend money you don’t have.

You nailed it with the last one. I don’t have $30 to spend on your books but maybe you should think twice before you first make suggestions that we are all a bunch of dumb losers for not buying your books and oh, yeah, you’re expected to believe that everyone doesn’t have that extra $30 lying around.

Well I don’t. But I’m not a moron either. And if there is something I want to know, I do the research. I don’t buy every book some health enthusiast puts out because I’d rather die in a poor house. Your hard sell was not welcomed. Perhaps you might give us the option to opt out of the ads.

Carol,
Thank you for your honest feedback, truly. I’ve already made notes to go back to my roots the next time I have something major to promote, sending fewer emails. Pardon the overfull inbox! I’m not sure how to do an “opt out” of any bundle info – and I did work hard to make sure that almost all emails had genuine content as well except for a few that were deal-specific. You could always unsubscribe for a week and then resubscribe? At least it’s over now… 🙂

I’m glad you are wise with your budget, and yes, definitely, this bundle is certainly not the only source of quality health information on the web. It’s not for everybody.

Thanks again for your comment, and keep in contact with me the next go ’round if my tongue-in-cheek comments turn out to be not so witty after all. Best, Katie

Dear Katie,
You have not shown or written in your recipe of CHICKEN STOCK , the quantity or names of spices to be included in the cup of chicken stock to be provided to our guests. (Spices like salt, pepper, caraway, cardamom. cinnamon, clove, garlic, ginger etc. & etc.). Looking forward for reply

After reading this article, I would encourage you to read the following articles (particularly the Wheat Belly one), written by Sue Becker, who has a degree in Food Science, and is a fellow sister in Christ…

Katie: What do you suggest I look for or ask about when deciding on where to purchase pork from a farmer? How should they be fed, taken care of etc. to get good pork that is safe and good for our bodies. I have a friend who raises pigs and wants us to buy some but he is “offended” by my questions! I want to sound like I know what I am talking about when I talk to him about the pork!!

Brenda,
Ouch. 🙁 Tough to handle between friends, but I am wary of his take on this – people who love their animals and go to lengths to raise them well usually can’t wait to talk about it…

I look for:
1. Outside access hopefully – pigs are made to root around, so definitely not 100% of their time should be on cement.
2. Pig’s food is a moving target more than chickens or cows, because they eat a lot of stuff. Kitchen scraps and leftover raw milk if they’re on or near a dairy farm is GREAT. If they’re raised on nearly all “bakery waste” which can be bought by the barrel, you just start to wonder how that translates into their meat with all the preservatives and corn syrup and such…?
3. What medications/supplements/hormones might they have had? You’ll know a good answer when you hear one.

Bonus item would be “heritage pigs” rather than a breed that’s been bred for big business, and one gold standard for pigs is often “milk-fed pork” – the pigs raised on dairy farms who get fat from extra milk. 🙂 Joel Salatin has much to say on well-raised animals; wish I had a link for you but he might be worth Googling. I lucked out with pork because my dairy farmer, whom I already trusted, raises pigs, so I didn’t have to ask many questions.

Hopefully telling your friend that you know he is a humane farmer and takes great care of his animals, but that you want to really get to know your meat, will pave the way for a good conversation.
Good luck! 🙂 Katie

I just want to start by saying how much I love your site and how much it has guided me in my beginning real food journey. I’m a college student, and very limited on time (and money), and many of the recipes I would like to try involve a lot of prep and resources (such as cream of x). I was wondering if you have any suggestions for healthier alternatives that may involve a little less “from scratch” preparation…I know this may be a stretch, but I’m a newbie to the kitchen and cooking in general, as well as to the real food movement, so any suggestions would be much appreciated!

Hi Erin!
It’s super awesome that you are starting your real food journey in college – I wish I had! I’ve often wanted to write a post about what you can do with super limited resources (like living in a dorm room) but have never gotten around to it.

For you, honestly, the best thing is to keep it simple: Cook chicken, hard-boil eggs, maybe make a homemade Italian dressing (3 minutes!), open a can of beans, and make big ol’ lovely salads for lunch often, especially if you can enjoy a farmer’s market this time of year. For dinners, you may be able to talk yourself into making some cream of x soup (I made a big batch of 7 cans worth the other day, took 20 minutes. I timed it!). All you need is a stovetop. Because you’re not feeding a big crowd, you can spend an hour or so cooking here and there and get SO many meals out of one recipe if you freeze in single portions. Does any of that work for your situation?

Bottom line is just try to use whole foods – stir fry is another super easy way to keep things “real” and not rely on boxes. If you have any specific questions about a recipe, like “can I freeze it?” or “can I simplify this?” just comment on that recipe! Good luck!! 🙂 Katie

Thanks for responding so soon! Luckily, I’m going to be in graduate school in the fall and will no longer have to deal with dorm room living-I’ll happily have a small but functional kitchen! I’m going to be transitioning to a more 8-5 kind of schedule, so your “Healthy Lunch Box” ebook has actually been wonderfully helpful for giving me ideas for packed lunches. I also, luckily, have access to several wonderful farmers markets and Trader Joe’s, so the switch to organic hasn’t been too tough or pricey. One problem I have encountered, however, is that I try to buy everything I need all at once (since the market only takes place once a week, and let’s face it, I don’t really enjoy grocery shopping), and I’ve tried freezing some veggies so that they won’t go bad before I have a chance to use them…and I ended up with wasted, mushy zucchini, squash, tomatoes, eggplant, and carrots. Now, after I did this, I realized I probably should have cut up the zucchini and squash before I froze them, and realized I probably shouldn’t have frozen the tomatoes at all. The mushy carrots, though, were a surprise. Any suggestions on more successful freezing techniques? Thanks so much, again, for all of your help and inspiration!

Erin,
It’s worth looking up freezing instructions – some vegs need to be blanched first, and carrots are one. They’ll last WEEKS in the fridge though, so no reason really to freeze them unless you’re saving for winter soups. Almost all vegs will not be nice to eat raw once frozen, but your zucchini, squash, tomatoes and eggplant would have all gone fine once cooked in a casserole or soup. Here are a few things I freeze: http://www.kitchenstewardship.com/2009/03/18/10-easy-prep-foods-youll-always-find-in-my-freezer/ But again, many veggies will handle a week in the fridge – I try to only go once a week or every other as well! Hope that helps! 🙂 katie

Here in Belgium if you go to a park you will se loads of dandelions and madeliefjes (I don’t know the name in English, little white flowers) in the grass. The flowers make my heart melt in the pring and it’s so much more beautiful than flat boring grass like I see in the front yard of some villas here (well, over there you guys just call it house… I call it an apartment building 🙂 ), but the general rule is greens. Th only thing that happens here is the grass gets cut. On the trails at the parks it’s nice to see all those little herbs, and I see little children playing in th grass and all the students go laying in the sun in the grass in their free time. It’s clean so I’m glad with that. Thanks for mntioning that, if I ever go travelling to America I shall double check the grass to see if it’s weedy (thus very likely non sprayed) before I go sitting. Ah, what are people doing…

I received an e-mail stating I might have won ……..and that I needed to look for my name by midnight Monday. I have linked with the the link provided and went to the We Go Way Back blog. I haven’t found where name/s are listed for anything. What am I doing wrong??? Help 🙂

I’m wondering if you have tried, or heard of anyone who has tried, soaking whole grains in water with a little sourdough starter added? I’m currently trying it with some oatmeal and some quinoa, but haven’t finished the soaking and cooked the grains yet. I do make sourdough bread and find that I can eat it, and so can my gluten-intolerant daughters.

Thanks for the response – I appreciate the compliment, it’s just that a duplicate article actually hurts both of us in the eyes of Google and doesn’t really promote my site b/c no one has to click over to finish reading. The blog learning curve is huge – we all make mistakes, no biggie. Just remember etiquette for future reference for any article you want to quote from – just a paragraph and a link. 🙂 Katie

Hello,
I thought I ordered the special lunch box cook book last Wed. night that I thought would be sent to me via email. I have not received it, or at least I cannot find it if it went to some sort of spam. Can you reconfirm that I ordered it and if so can you resend to me? Thanks, Shananne Lewis

I was just curious about your thoughts on stoves. We are having to replace our oven (we are down to 2 small burners). We currently have a coil burner electric stove. I feel I am very hard on my burners, with all of my large heavy canning pots and cast iron skillets. The newer electric glass top stoves are kind of scary for that reason. So I was just wondering what you have, and how it holds up (knowing that you also are probably hard on your stove)

Heather, Just a run of the mill, near the bottom of the line gas stove. I love gas stoves though. I cooked on my MIL’s glass top for 5 months, and I really wasn’t crazy about it. I would hate cast iron on glass, too! 🙂 Katie

Miriam,
It’s not intended to be a gluten free book, but since our family is quite often gluten-free, there are very few recipes that don’t at least have GF adaptations. Rolls, biscuits and tortillas are just about the only ones, but any dinner recipes that use those items have GF options. Hope that helps! 🙂 Katie

I gave my daughter 1/2 tsp. Of Green Pastures Fermented Cod Liver Oil at 830. At around 3 she committed a ton and has been very clingy and tired. Could this be a reaction to the FCLO or just a bug? Any help would be great! Thanks!

Tami,
If you’re gifting an ebook that you buy singly, you can just forward your email with the download link. If you’re splitting up a bundle and gifting those, just download, then email or put on a thumb drive, then delete from your computer. Hope that answers the question! 🙂 Katie

Katie,
I love the information you include on your blog regarding green cleaners. I appreciate your research and hard work to “report” on good options. I was wondering if you have a green cleaner you prefer for cleaning stainless steel. Thanks in advance for answering.

Hi Katie,
I recently discovered kitchenstew. The amount of information you provide is amazing (and a bit overwhelming) You have made me very curious about sprouted grains! When I was wondering your site a few days ago, I stumbled upon a post about healthy meal supplies one could purchased for our Churches food pantry. But now I can’t locate that post. I would love ideas for healthy meal “packages” to make for our pantry. Also I’m thrilled to find a Catholic family blogger with practical information!
Thank you,
Bernadette

Hi! I love your blog & find it to be a wonderful resource for wholesome cooking and stewarding God’s resources (actually the way I found it is by plugging your domain into a hosting site to find it was already taken!). I have wanted to start a blog focusing on my the things I’m most passionate about–Loving Jesus, Health & Nutrition (specifically traditional whole foods approach), & local/sustainable living. I put it off for a long time for fear of failure or insecurity I guess, but finally got it started…I was wondering if you had any suggestions for networking with as a newer blogger….I know you are WAY bigger than I’ll ever be, but smaller blogs are hard to find, so I didn’t know if you had any suggestions to find people on my level to build it up….
Thanks, and I completely understand if you don’t have the time to answer–I love that you specified that your family comes first–the way it should be!
Oh also–I got your ebook as part of a bundle deal and love it-have already used many of the ideas & making some of the bars as Christmas gifts instead of cookies 🙂

Hi Beth!
Congrats on starting a blog! There are so many bloggers of all sizes out there, and I think the real food niche is particularly friendly and open to each other. Try entering carnivals, like Real Food Wednesday at KellytheKitchenKop.com – and browsing those will help you find other newer bloggers, too. More here: http://www.nourishedlivingnetwork.com/

You might also have a local blogger group near you that could connect you in person to other bloggers, rookies and veterans alike. I hope that helps! 🙂 Katie

Please remember that I’m just a gal who reads a lot and spends way too much time in her kitchen. I’m not a doctor, nurse, scientist, or even a real chef, and certainly the FDA hasn't evaluated anything on this blog. Any products mentioned are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Please talk to your health professional (or at least your spouse) before doing anything you might think is questionable. Trust your own judgment…I can’t be liable for problems that occur from bad decisions you make based on content found here.

Some posts on this blog contain affiliate links which generate commission if you purchase anything starting with those links. KS also accepts private sponsorships and we are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. More info here.